The federal election is over and the Coalition is now in government. Already there is a growing dissatisfaction with the new Abbott-led government over a wide-ranging series of issues including nepotism, asylum seeker policy, the environment, a lack of governance, etc. There is also continuing debate within the various opposition parties concerning their future direction, policies, etc. Yet for the Greens, the future is questionable, with some believing the party to be in serious decline – even among those within the party.

The link below is to an article reporting on the turmoil within the Greens party.

DAMASCUS, Syria — Government troops captured a neighbourhood Monday in the embattled city of Homs that has been a rebel stronghold since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, dealing another blow to beleaguered opposition forces in the centre of the country, according to the state media.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights activist group, however, denied that regime forces had seized all of the district of Khaldiyeh, saying there was still scattered fighting in southern areas of the neighbourhood.

Syrian TV aired footage from the neighbourhood, showing troops roaming deserted streets and waving flags in front of shell-scarred buildings. Two opposition activists in the area who could normally be contacted via Skype were offline Monday.

Government troops launched a sweeping offensive to retake rebel-held areas of Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, a month ago. Even if small pockets of resistance remain, the fall of Khaldiyeh to regime troops appeared to…

The link below is to an article from a foreign news site that reports on Australia’s current asylum seeker policy and that of the opposition – it would appear to have some Coalition influence concerning some aspects of the report.

Tunisia, the birthplace of the Arab Spring, faced the prospect of fresh political turmoil Thursday after an opposition leader was shot dead outside his home, in the country’s second political assassination this year.

Mohammed Brahmi, 58, the leader of the Left-wing nationalist Movement of the People party, was killed after being hit by 11 bullets fired by two gunmen as he sat in a car in the capital, Tunis.

The attackers sped off on a moped after the incident, which was witnessed by Mr. Brahmi’s wife and daughter.

Another Left-wing politician, Chokri Belaid – who belonged to the same Popular Front coalition as Mr. Brahmi – was killed in a similar incident in February in an assassination the government blamed on Islamic extremists. The latest murder, coinciding with the 56th anniversary of Tunisia’s independence, threatened to plunge the North African country deeper into instability as Mr. Brahmi’s supporters gathered in…

[np_storybar title=”Government troops fire mortar wounds at market killing at least 20″ link=””]
Government troops fired mortar rounds that slammed into a main market in a town in northern Syria on Sunday, killing at least 20 civilians, activist groups said.

The mortar shells struck the town of Ariha, which is held mostly by opposition fighters, a few hours ahead of iftar, the meal that breaks the dawn-to-dusk fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and the Local Coordination Committees, two opposition groups tracking the violence in Syria, said at least 20 people were killed including two children and two women. It was not immediately clear what triggered the shelling.

Also Sunday, state media said government forces killed nearly 50 rebels in an ambush near Damascus.

Separately, Kurdish rebels freed the local commander of an al-Qaida-linked group in a town near Syria’s northern…